The local council in the town of Harasta east of the capital Damascus said that 52 civilians were killed and more than 150 others wounded as a result of heavy bombardment by the Assad regime forces over the past week.

The district of Harasta was hit with more than 250 airstrikes in the period from December 29 to January 7, head of the local council Hussam Beruti told a news conference in eastern Ghouta on Monday. Bunker-buster bombs were used in the airstrikes. Each bomb can destroy half of an apartment building, Beruti added.

Beruti pointed out that regime forces also pounded residential neighborhoods in the rebel-held district with about 315 surface-to-surface missiles, 10 cluster bombs, and 1,500 artillery and mortar shells and in same period.

According to Beruti, as many as 40 apartment buildings were completely or partially destroyed in the heavy bombardment. The bombardment also knocked out a power station and three major water stations as well caused damage to the sewage network in 23 different locations.

Beruti also said that Harasta, which is home to about 2,800 families, suffers lack of services, especially health care as well as the spread of diseases due to living in places with poor hygiene, such as respiratory and skin diseases. The local council is unable to provide services for the local population due to the constant bombardment and the inability to carry out the necessary maintenance work.

Beruti went on to say that January 4 would not be erased from the memory of everyone in the district and its outskirts as the bombardment continued non-stop for 15 hours on that day, with no fewer than 700 shells hitting the area. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)